Birch Ridge Golf Report

Work or play?

Posted: Thursday, August 30, 2007

By Sharon Keating

Labor Day weekend is upon us again and for many that means time off from work. But for all of us it means that the end of summer is fast approaching, so it's time to get out and play as much golf as possible.

Thanks to our hard-working grounds crew, the greens are in great shape for playing. And even with the shorter days, there's still time to play a round after a day of work. But this weekend, forget about the yardwork, the housework or whatever other work you think you should do and come on out to play at Birch Ridge. Remember what "they" say, "A bad day of golf is better than a good day of work." I second that.

I'm sad to say I was unable to play in the Bassackwards Tournament on the Aug. 18 but it sounds like it was anything but work, especially for the three teams who tied for first place. Even with the rain, the 49 golfers who played had a great time.

After a chip-off to break the tie, the team of Dan Murphy, Linda Murphy, Curtis Nelson and Krystal Nelson took first place. Second place went to the team of Tom Walsh, Judy Keck-Walsh, Jim McWilliams and Dick Cockroft. The team of Mark Matarrese, Don McGhee, Tom Boedeker and Tanya Boedeker came in third.

Don't miss an opportunity to represent your association in the combined tournament between the Birch Ridge and Kenai Golf Associations, which is set for Sept. 8 and 9. Golfers will play 18 holes on each course and must be a member of either association with an established handicap. Deadline to pay your entry fee is 6 p.m. on Sept. 7.

It's not too early to make plans to play in the Cold Weather Classic, scheduled for Sept. 29. This is a very fun tournament that you won't want to miss.

The Men's Birch Ridge Cup final night and playoff championship was held on Monday, with 14 teams participating. The final night was a three-hole Scotch, three-hole scramble and three-hole best ball format. The Gary Dawkins-John Lansing team came in first place. Second place went to the Dan Murphy-Dick Cockroft team.

Darell Jelsma and Mike Hollingsworth won the playoff championship over the team of Ryan Kapp and Steve Tachick to become the 2007 Men's Birch Ridge Cup Champions. A special thanks to Dave Stein for taking charge once again this year.

Congratulations to our 2007 Ladies Cup winners, Pat Bird and Rhonda Dettmer. We look forward to your leadership next year. Second place was a tie between the Tanna Chenault-Nan Weaver team and the Kathy Herring-Lynne Reynolds team.

A huge thank you goes to Ardie Crawford and Jessica Sundberg (2006 Ladies Cup winners) for doing such a great job of keeping us on track this year and for organizing our upcoming banquet, scheduled for 6 p.m. (dinner at 7 p.m) on Sept. 21 at Mykels Restaurant. Ladies, please call Ardie or Jessica to let them know if you will be attending.

The Wednesday Night Men's League final bonus point playoff was held on Aug. 15. Dave Stein worked his way into low net winner with a 32. In second place (with a 34) was Gary Davis. Gary Effenbeck posted a 35, taking third place. In fourth place was Roy Bird (37). Closest to the hole on No. 6 was Gary Davis, and Gary Effenbeck was closest to the hole on No. 8 and also had the longest drive.

Even though the official season has ended for the Men's Night, players are still coming out on Wednesdays to get in as much golf as possible before the end of the year. On Aug. 22, seven players came out and played a scramble. Starting next week, they will begin playing earlier, teeing off at 6 p.m.

The seniors are still going strong. On Aug. 20, there were 21 players. Pat McElroy took first place with the low net (33). With a net 34, George Collum came in second and also was closest to the hole on No. 6. On No. 8, George McDowell was closest to the hole. The longest putt was made by Roger Jones.

This week 19 seniors played, with Steve Tachick posting the low net (32). Closest to the hole on both Nos. 6 and 8 was George McDowell and George Collum made the longest putt.

The Tuesday Night Couples really appreciate John and Jane Tongen's hard work so that we can play and have a great time every Tuesday night. On Aug. 21, couples played a two-person best nine net score format, with a "twist." Nine couples, each playing their own game, used the best nine net scores between the couple for the team score. George and Sue Stein took first place. Charlie and Lore Weimer came in second. The "twist" was keeping track of putts made that were longer than the flag stick. Sally Hoagland made an impressive five putts that were longer than the flag stick. Way to go, Sally.

This week the Tuesday Night Couples played a two-person "colored scramble" format. We played a standard scramble, using at least three drives from each person. The "twist" was that everyone played from the same designated tee box (some white, some blue, some red, some pink), which was quite challenging on some of the holes. I think the guys liked playing from the pink tees on Nos. 5 and 9, and playing from the blue tee on No. 2 was pretty interesting for the ladies. First place went to the Tachicks (Steve and Sally). Second place was determined by a card-off with Greg Harrington and Nancy Bruner winning out over Vic and Carol Hussey (third) and Tom and Tanya Boedeker (fourth). Tongens say we have four more weeks to play!

SHARON'S THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Bob Hope said, "If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play at it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf." Personally, I think golf is a funny game ... but I don't think it's supposed to be.